Joshua Tree day trails head to desert oases

Six palm oases can be found in Joshua Tree National Park. Among the most
popular is Fortynine Palms.

What would a desert be without an oasis? Sitting in the Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree has six. The California fan palm oases usually occur along fault lines, where uplifted layers of rock bring underground water to the surface.

The best trails to discover the park’s desert oases are:
• Cottonwood Spring Trail – This brief 0.2-mile round trip walk heads to a fan palm oasis with cottonwood trees. It's a great spot to see many a variety of birds and on top of that, there's shade! About 24 palms were planted here in the 1890s because of a once active spring. The trailhead is 1 mile east of the Cottonwood Visitor Center.
• Fortynine Palms Oasis Trail – To set up the oasis, the 3-mile round trip trail runs along a desolate ridge with barrel cactus seemingly your only company. Then it descend to a verdant fan palm oasis with water pools in a rocky canyon.
• Lost Palms Oasis Trail – This 7.2-mile round trip backcountry hike heads to a remote oasis in a shady canyon. Dike Springs is in a side canyon but requires some bouldering to reach. Park in the Cottonwood Spring lot.
• Oasis of Mara Trail – An easy 0.5 mile loop, the oasis has a long history of being used by Native Americans and wildlife. Leashed pets are allowed on the trail. The trailhead is at the Oasis Visitor Center.
• Victory Palms bushwhack – After taking in the Lost Palms Oasis, continue down canyon for a mile. Only a half-dozen palms stand in the oasis. It’s a 9.2-mile round trip backcountry hike that requires bouldering.

A sixth oasis, in Munsen Canyon, has no trail to it. An arduous cross-country 9-mile one-way hike up a cash and boulder-strewn canyon in the Eagles Mountains reaches it. A set of eight small oases sit in a two-mile stretch of the canyon.